The Fifth Annual North East Youth Triathlon will be held on June 1st at the North East Elementary Center.
The race distances are based on age (see application) with ages 7-16 racing individually and ages 16-18 (and still in high school) in teams.
Registration begins at 3:30 p.m., first race at 5:00. There will be a mandatory meeting for all racers at 4:45.
Cost $18.00
More information and the registration form can be found here.
Mari Howells, center, and her daughters, Sofia & Elizabeth Viebranz.
Mari Howells, of Millcreek, has run the ERC Mother’s Day run with her two daughters, Sofia and Elizabeth Viebranz, for the last four years, staring when Elizabeth was just 9 years old.
“The 1st one in 2010 was so miserable–cold and very windy,” Mari said. “Luckily, my husband had gloves in his car for our 9-year old, Elizabeth. It was her first race, and she was very pretty cold and unhappy. It took her 55 minutes.”
Mari says their times have improved since that first race and Elizabeth was not deterred by that first miserable run.
“She insists we run the Mother’s Day Race every year, as a tradition,” Mari said.
I did a little Q&A with Mari in hopes of inspiring other mother runners to get their brood out there this Sunday morning:
Family: Husband, Gary Viebranz; Daughters, Sofia Viebranz, 14, and Elizabeth Viebranz, 12.
Do your daughters normally run? Do you?
We are “situational” runners. If we have a race coming up, we try to run so we don’t make complete fools of ourselves. I also go to the Y every week with my mom, and I run the track there. She’s 88. I’m trying to get her to walk a race with me, but she won’t. Sofia was on the cross country team at J.S. Wilson for 3 years, and Elizabeth was on the team this past fall.
Honestly, if I didn’t have kids, I wouldn’t run at all. The only reason I do run is because Sofia joined the cross country team in 6th grade and she insisted that we run the Turkey Trot together in 2009. I was over 40, and I had never run anywhere in my life. Needless to say, I was extremely sore the whole weekend, but we kept up with a few races every year, starting with the Mother’s Day run, and we dragged Elizabeth along that year.
Do you run the race or walk…..or do you kinda do both (run/walk)?
I slowly run the whole race, although there’s usually a voice in my head telling me to walk at around the 2-mile mark.
Who likes to do this the most…you or the girls?
I think I like it most. I enjoy being around the variety of runners, and the happy camaraderie that you see during a race.
What do you enjoy about the ERC’s Mother’s Day race?
I love the fact that we have a healthy, fun, inexpensive Mother’s Day tradition. It’s a great excuse to get out and get moving. Since we live in Erie, I can’t say that the weather is nice every year, but the odds of good weather are in our favor. People are always in a good mood at the race, and the happiness is infectious.
What do the girls enjoy most about it?
They both told me they like the finish most of all. I think they gave chocolate at the finish one year, so that was especially popular with the girls.
Most memorable moment at any of the ERC Mother’s Day races you’ve done?
The first one in 2010 was memorable for the weather. As I recall, it was miserable—cold, windy and rainy.
The past two Mother’s Day runs, my brother and his family have come from Cleveland to run. It’s always more fun when there’s a group running and cheering you at the finish. They give me a hard time because I’m slower than my brother and his kids—my nephew Aidan finished 3rd overall last year!
Why should other moms & kids do this race?
Even though getting up early and running at Presque Isle doesn’t sound like fun to many of us, it’s actually a good time. Plus, if you go to a restaurant later, you can justify dessert because you ran or walked a 5K.
What do you do after the race? What’s your Mother’s Day tradition in your family?
We go to Panera’s after every race.
Best parenting advice you ever received…and from whom?
When I was pregnant with my first child, the Lamaze teacher said something to the class that’s stuck with me—“Whatever age my kids are, that’s my favorite age.” I find that to be true for me. I can look back fondly at the baby years and the elementary school years, but right now, with my kids being 12 and 14, is my favorite age for my kids.
Meet the ERC Mother’s Day 5K T-shirt artist, Jenna and Jessica Usro. Their mother, Jill Wigham, is the daughter of Greg Wigham, ERC Mother’s Day 5K co-race director, Teresa Wigham’s husband.
The girls and their mom will be participating in this year’s race. I’ll have a Q&A with them next week.
Race participants will also have the chance to honor a lady they love:
“In Honor of__________” and “In Memory of________” are 3 1/2 inches high and 8 1/2 inches long card stock signs pre-printed with the line for them to write in a name. The card stock is punched with holes at the top of both sides for easy pining to the back of the shirt. We’ll have them out so the runners can choose one or both, if they want.
Packet pick-up and late registration on Saturday, May 11, 2013 at Achilles Running Shop, 2309 W. 12 St., Erie, PA from 11 am until 3 pm.
Additional late registration and packet pickup at Beach #1 beginning at 7 am on race day. No guarantee of a race shirt.
Now, wat’cha waiting for….hurry up and register!
Dan and I are all registered for the Barber Center Beast on the Bay Adventure run on September 7 at Presque Isle State Park.
I decided, on a whim, to create an Erie Runners Club team and you are all welcome to join us. So if you’ve been thinking about taking on the Beast, but you don’t really have anyone to do it with or haven’t been able to cajole bribe threaten enough people to form your own team, join our team of misfits.
When you register, just chose to “join a team” and scroll down & choose “Erie Runners Club” (real creative name, I know).
Three important points:
1. We’re not in it to win it. We will not be racing. We will have fun though (and I’m bringing my water camera).
2. Heed my warnings about this not being a race for novices. It’s going to be very challenging.
3. I’m not opposed to matching shirts/gear, but…I’m really lazy about making stuff like that happen, so if you are joining the team and you have a passion for making us all match…by all means, contact me (zipdang22 at aol) and I’ll help organize/distribute messages to the others.
Don’t forget about this race on Saturday morning:
Looking to test your race mettle and maybe even bring home a medal from a place other than Presque Isle State Park? Check out the Spring into Spirit 5K in Edinboro.
Benefitting McKean Elementary School, this 5K fun run/walk is a family-friendly event that begins with a cannon start on the campus of Edinboro University near Sox Harris Stadium.
While some (OK, most of us) runners will treat this as a competitive event, the focus is quite obviously on family & fun. Only the top overall male and female with get awards and there will not be “official” timing, but… there is still tons of good reasons to this race.
Here are the deets (yep, I just said “deets,” cause I’m super-cool like that):
The theme of our event is a spirit run, which is designed to bring the community together through physical activity and team spirit. Each participant will be encouraged to show their team spirit through costumes and apparel and awards will be offered to the most spirited runner or walker.
The 5k fun run/walk event will start at 10:00A.M. on May 4th, 2013. The runners will start at Scotland road and end with one loop on the track.
Due to the nature of the event we will not offer official timing. We will offer prizes to the first male and the female finishers.
Lancer Loop: The Lancer Loop will begin immediately following the 5K event at 11:00 A.M. There will be different age groups and each age group will start the race at a different time. The kids will run a 100m, 200m, or 400m depending on their age. The Lancer Loop will be available to school-aged children, and each participant will receive a prize at the end of their run.
Boro Fitness Frenzy/Event Social – Youth activities will be offered during the 5k fun run/walk and after the youth fun run. A parent/guardian/supervisor must be present with the child during the activities. We will offer a variety of fun activities. The children can go and participate and whatever station they would like. We will offer stations like a parachute game, a hula hoop area, and a dance area. To correspond with our spirit theme; we will have mascots, spirit games, and spirit awards.
The event social and awards ceremony will take place after the kids run. The event social will consist of refreshments, a 50-50 raffle, and continuing with the kids activities.
Date & Time: May 4, 2013
• Same day Registration: 8:30am
• Packet Pickup: 8:45 to 9:45am
• 5K Race: 10:00am
• Kids Race: 11:00am
• Post-Race Social: 11:00am
• Kids events: on-going
Event Pricing
• Kids run (ages 5-12): $7
• 5k participants: $15 for students -$20 for adults
• Late Registration: $25
• Special group pricing: $5 per child with a registered adult; $5 per child with more than one child registered
Online Registration: http://register.bigwhitetrailer.com/search/event.aspx?id=20224
Pre-Registration deadline: April 19th
Premium: Guaranteed only to pre-registration participants. Some may be available on race day.
Want to try out barefoot running? Check out this invitation from Erie’s original barefoot runner, Tom Madura
Okay, so here’s the thing.
I have spent most of the winter nursing an ankle injury (NOT caused by running, in case you were wondering) and have just started running again after about three months, so I’m not up to anything major.
However, this Sunday is the Third Annual International Barefoot Running Day (IBRD), sponsored by the Barefoot Runners Society. And, I do plan on doing a slow 3 miles on Sunday to commemorate it.
Anyone who runs barefoot, or in minimal shoes, or just has an interest in trying barefoot running, is welcome to meet up with me Sunday morning.
I’ll be at Presque Isle at the first parking lot on the Bay side at 10:00 AM.
Come and run as little or as far as you like.
You can read about last year’s event, including three of us from Erie, here .
Hope I’ll see a few folks there!
— Tom
Check it out: The Erie Runner’s Club’s 2013 Turkey Trot shirt made it onto Shape.com’s list of 10 Hilarious Running Shirts:
By the way… the author, Charlotte Andersen, is hilarious, too. She blogs at The Great Fitness Experiment.
* Genetically Modified Foods: 7 Things Every Shopper Needs to Know
* If you haven’t had a tick on you yet….it’s a matter of time, especially for those of you who run trail…(If this doesn’t make you itch, I don’t know what will): The Rise of the Tick & 9 tips for Avoiding & Treating Tick Bites
* Former Pittsburgh Steeler, Hines Ward, is not done being a bad#@$. He’s training for an October Ironman triathlon! Find out how his training is going.
* Runner’s World: Do Ice Baths Reduce Muscle Soreness?
This has absolutely nothing to do with running, but…man, don’t you miss Hills?
Available here for $20 (but it would totally be like $6 if you could still buy it at Hills…and you could spend $1 on an Icee and popcorn on the way out).
Hey, all you mother runners…..Don’t forget about the ERC’s Mother’s Day 5K. I signed my girls up and said: No whining…this is your gift to me!
The race is on Mother’s Day, Sunday, May 12 (yep….mark that on your calendars now, guys!) and it starts at 9 a.m. at Beach 1 at Presque Isle State Park. There’s also a non-competitive 1/2 mile run/walk at 8:30 a.m.
Event Description: The course starts and ends on the Lake Road at Beach #1. The 1/2 mile race will feature a non-timed 1/4 mile out and back race friendly to wheelchairs, walkers, baby strollers, children and Seeing Eye dogs. 5K participants are encouraged to come early and line the course to cheer on the 1/2 mile runners.
Proceeds benefit the Erie Runners Club Scholarship Fund, The Beach 1 Pavilion Fund and the Dr. Gertrude A. Barber Foundation.
Registration is $20 for ages 13 and over and $15 for ages 12 and under. Online registration (no additional fee) will close Tuesday, May 7, 2013.
More info on the race later…and, hopefully, a preview of the shirt, too! Reportedly, the shirt has a special feature that will allow you to personalize it with the name of a person you want to honor.
P.S. I’d love to talk to some mother runners….have you always done this race with your kids…or your mom? post a message or email me at zipdang22 at aol.
